with the reform of chinese higher education, more and more colleges and universities put emphasis on nurturing students’ abilities. as a result, elective courses are available not only for excellent academic performers but also for students about the average level.

　　certainly, students have different reasons to choose their own electives. for some, practical skills are the essence of college education, and therefore, courses on computer science, marketing, and finance are highly preferred. on the other hand, others may hold the idea of liberal education and electives concerning literature, history, and philosophy are the most welcome.

　　take me as an example: being a disciple of free education, i stand for the notion that university is not a place for survival skills, but a palace of knowledge and critical reasoning. although my major is chemistry, the electives i attend most frequently are english literature, an introduction to classic music, and different schools of western painting. they really widen my horizon.